1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to methods of forming shaped or embossed chocolate compositions that can include detailed designs and/or planar surfaces.
2. Related Background Art
The unique flavor and mouthfeel of chocolate is a result of the combination of numerous components as well as the process of manufacture. Chocolate contains solid particles dispersed throughout a fat matrix (the term “fat” includes cocoa butter and milk fat).
Similarly, chocolate-like compositions may also contain fats other than cocoa butter or milk fat. Accordingly, melted chocolate and chocolate-like compositions are suspensions of non-fat particles (e.g., sugar, milk powders and cocoa solids) in a continuous liquid fat phase. The fat phase of milk chocolate, for example, is typically a mixture of cocoa butter, a suitable emulsifier, and milk fat. Cocoa butter is typically the predominant fat in the chocolates.
Cocoa butter is a polymorphic material in that it has the ability to crystallize in a number of different crystal packing configurations (Wille and Lutton “Polymorphism of Cocoa Butter”, J. Amer. Oil Chem. Society, Vol. 43 (1966) pages 491–96, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety). Six different polymorphic forms are generally recognized for cocoa butter. Forms I and II are produced, for example, by rapidly cooling melted untempered chocolate to low temperatures and are very unstable with low melting points. Forms III and IV melt at higher temperatures than Forms I and II but are not the most desirous forms for confectionery manufacture. Forms V and VI are the most stable forms of cocoa butter. It is desirable to have Form V as the predominant form in a well-tempered chocolate. Form V transforms slowly into Form VI after a period of time. Accordingly, chocolate processing is strongly linked to the crystallization and polymorphic behavior of the fat phase. Before chocolate can be satisfactorily processed from liquid to solid using conventional methods, it must be tempered after which it is gently cooled to form a set chocolate having a stable fat phase.
The most commonly used method of processing chocolate involves the following sequential steps:                A. complete melting of the chocolate fat phase;        B. cooling to the point of initial crystallization of the fat phase (i.e., below the melting point of the liquid fat phase);        C. crystallizing a portion of the liquid fat phase;        D. slight heating to melt out any unstable crystals that may have formed leaving from about 3 to 8 wt % as seeds for crystallizing the remaining liquid fat; and        E. gently cooling to set the chocolate, typically in a cooling tunnel.        
During conventional chocolate processing, the chocolate mixture is initially melted at temperatures of about 45° C. and tempered by cooling with agitation to about 29° to 30° C. The tempering of the chocolate results in a chocolate dispersion having fat crystals dispersed throughout the liquid fat phase. The chocolate suspension may then be further processed prior to setting by, for example, enrobing the chocolate onto an edible center or molding the chocolate. The chocolate is finally set into a form sufficiently solid for wrapping by gentle, controlled cooling.
Conventional tempering is the controlled partial precrystallization of the fat phase which is believed to be necessary to produce a stable solid form of the fat in the finished product. Therefore, one important object of tempering is to develop a sufficient number of stable seed crystals so that under appropriate cooling conditions the fat phase of the chocolate is able to crystallize into a stable polymorphic form. Tempering plays a key role in ensuring that the cocoa butter crystallizes in the stable form. “Chocolate must be properly tempered. Undertempered chocolate causes delayed setting in the cooler and adhesion to [processing equipment such as a] conveyor belt, and ultimately bad chocolate color and fat bloom” (see Chocolate, Cocoa and Confectionery: Science and Technology, by Minifie, 3rd Ed., p. 218, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety).
Although it is important that the chocolate is well seeded with stable forms of cocoa butter crystals, the tempered chocolate still contains a high proportion of liquid cocoa butter, estimated from about 92 to 97 wt % of the fat phase. This must be solidified or at least partially solidified in the cooling process so that the set chocolate can be wrapped and ultimately be completely solidified into a stable crystalline form. (see Chocolate, Cocoa and Confectionery: Science and Technology, by Minifie, 3rd Ed., p. 195, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety).
Chocolates having a desired three-dimensional shape or having an image or design imprinted on a surface (herein referred to as “formed chocolates”) are conventionally produced by molding. Molding is the casting of liquid chocolate into molds (plastic or metal) followed by cooling and demolding. The finished chocolate may be a solid block, a hollow shell, or a shell filled with a confectionery material such as fondant, fudge or soft caramel (Chocolate, Cocoa and Confectionery: Science and Technology by Bernard W. Minifie, Third Edition, page 183, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety).
The term molding includes methods wherein chocolate is deposited into molds, allowed to cool and hardened into solid pieces. The chocolates used in molding processes usually can be somewhat more viscous than coating chocolates since the chocolate can be vibrated and/or forced into a mold over a longer period of time than allowed in enrobing, for example. However, chocolate molded with food inclusions generally must be as fluid as coating chocolates.
Formed chocolate products are conventionally produced by depositing tempered chocolate having a liquid fat phase into molds, allowing the chocolate to cool and harden into solid pieces before demolding the chocolate (Chocolate, Cocoa and Confectionery: Science and Technology by Bernard W. Minifie, Third Edition, pages 198–206, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety).
The most commonly used method of producing a shaped chocolate involves the following sequential steps:                A. heating the chocolate to soften, i.e., melting of the fat phase;        B. tempering the chocolate;        C. depositing the tempered chocolate into a mold;        D. shaking the mold to remove air bubbles and fully distribute the chocolate in the mold cavity;        E. cooling to harden the chocolate; and        F. removing said set shaped chocolate from said mold (“de-molding”).        
One disadvantage of the conventional molding process is the excessive time required to fill the mold, shake the mold to remove air pockets and solidify the chocolate to form a shaped piece. The molding time typically exceeds 10 to 20 minutes. The requirement of the use of molds to form shaped or decorated products greatly reduces the efficiencies of such commercial production lines.
The decoration or embossing of a surface of a chocolate, typically the top surface, by conventional methods is also disadvantageous. In the hand-dipping days, decorations were made by hand using hand tools (Industrial Chocolate Manufacture and Use by S. T. Beckett, second edition, page 227, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety). The Sollich Decormatic [Sollich GMBH &Co., KG, Bad Salzuflen, Germany] and Woody Stringer [Woody Associates, Inc., York, Pa., USA] are two conventional decorating apparatuses. The Decormatic decorates the chocolate by applying additional chocolate through a nozzle. The decoration is limited by the movement of the nozzles in relation to the chocolate product (i.e., circulatory or oscillating movements). The Woody Stringer also functions by applying additional chocolate onto the chocolate product to form a decoration. Such devices are limited to the speed in which the additional decorative chocolate can be applied. Moreover, the types of decorations that can be created are limited to those which are able to be formed with the chocolate applicator. These types of devices cannot be used to form the chocolate product into a particular shape or provide a chocolate having an image embossed on at least one surface.
There are a variety of methods in the prior art to decorate chocolate surfaces. U.S. Pat. No. 4,946,696 to Nendl et al. relates to the creation of fine patterns in chocolate surfaces using offset printing of a colored cocoa butter pattern on a printing sheet and thereafter embedding it in a molded chocolate surface. U.S. Pat. No. 4,668,521 to Newsteder relates to a process for producing a photographic quality likeness of a photographic image on the surface of a chocolate candy. The method involves the use of a film surface of a photorelief imaged in a photosensitive element such that peaks and valleys are created in the photosensitive element corresponding to the selected image. A deformable transfer blanket is cast against the photosensitive element surface to record in a surface of the transfer blanket peaks and valleys corresponding to the selected image. A chocolate material is then cast against the surface of the transfer blanket to record the selected image by peaks and valleys in the surface of the chocolate. U.S. Pat. No. 4,455,320 to Syrmis relates to a method for sculpting a person's face from a photograph onto a chocolate candy by adapting a photographic image of a person's face, converting the adapted image into a transfer medium or die and then embossing such adapted image onto chocolate candy.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,183,968 to Beckers relates to a method and apparatus for continuously stamping pieces of candy from travelling lengths of confectionery material and comprises rotating laterally open chambers into which is arranged to project, from opposite sides thereof, axially disposed co-rotating stamping dies. U.S. Pat. No. 3,303,796 to Novissimo relates to a method for continuously forming three-dimensional confectionery shapes in sheet form by a roll-pressing operation. U.S. Pat. No. 2,304,494 to Cahoon relates to candy-forming machines for continuously molding confectionery products.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,522,738 to Miller relates to the production of candy in the form of strips which are substantially rectangular in cross-section. The above U.S. patents are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,648,829 to Cattani relates to a device for shaping ice creams and food articles that have a thick and creamy nature comprising at least one forming unit including an air-pervious contoured die and drive elements for moving the die, and members operative to supply compressed air to the die from the opposite side thereof to that engagable to articles to be shaped. U.S. Pat. No. 4,847,090 to Della Posta et al. relates to improved confectionery products which are characterized in having a single product body of discrete component parts at least certain of which differ from others in respect to their physical and/or chemical properties. A co-extruded confection product may be shaped via the use of opposed forming dies. The above U.S. patents are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety.
The above-identified methods of forming shaped chocolate products or chocolate products having an embossed surface are slow and lack efficiency. When compared to other processing steps in making a chocolate, the molding process is inefficient. While a conventional enrobing line, for example, can operate at up to 10,000 pieces/minute, molding lines can only operate at about 2,000 pieces/minute for molding pieces of similar widths, sizes and shapes. Molding produces, however, desirable properties such as high gloss and detail not attainable by other methods. Such inabilities of other processes to provide an acceptable gloss and the high detail comparable to that provided by a molded product, without the use of a mold, reduces the commercial efficiencies of conventional chocolate processing facilities. It would be desirable to provide a method of making such products in a more efficient manner.
Some known methods have incorporated the use of chilled molds or chilled plunging devices to set chocolate products more rapidly. However, the known methods utilizing molds still require the time consuming steps of (i) shaking the mold to remove air bubbles and to distribute the chocolate in the mold, as well as (ii) setting the chocolate in the mold to allow for de-molding. Moreover, the use of chilled molds by prior methods results in chocolate products having poor gloss. The following references relate to methods of using chilled molds or molds with chilled plungers.
PCT Patent Publication WO 95/32633 to Aasted relates to a method for producing molded shells of fat-containing, chocolate-like masses wherein a mold cavity is filled with a mass and a cooling member having a temperature below 0° C. is subsequently immersed in the mass to define a predetermined shell volume between the member and the mold cavity. This publication is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
U.K. Patent publication GB 2 070 501 relates to making confections, such as chocolates and the like, of substantially uniform size. The method involves the steps of depositing a gob of flowable confectionery substance onto a surface, surrounding the gob in spaced relationship with an annular mold, exerting pressure upon the gob to cause the gob to spread apart and come into contact with the mold causing the gob to set so as to form a confectionery body in the mold and separating the confectionery body and the molds from one another. Pressure is exerted on the gob by a ram. It is advantageous if each of the annular molds has a hollow circumferential wall and if a cooling fluid circulates through this hollow wall to create a cooling channel so as to obtain a rapid chilling (and thus setting) of the gob. The inner circumference of the mold may have any desired regular or irregular shape, depending upon what shape is desired to impose upon the finished confectionery body. This publication is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
European Patent Application 0 589 820 to Aasted relates to a method for producing molded outer shells of fat-containing, chocolate-like masses wherein a mold cavity is filled with a tempered chocolate-like mass which solidifies from the mold cavity inwardly to form the outer shape of the shell, the temperature of the mold cavity being lower than the temperature of the tempered mass. The mold cavity is filled with a chocolate-like mass in an amount which is just slightly larger than the volume of the finished shell. A cooling member, which has preferably been cooled to −15 to −30° C., is then immersed into the chocolate mass and kept in a fully immersed position for about 2 to 3 seconds. The chocolate-like mass will then solidify rapidly during crystallization from the cooling member and will readily release the cooling member, which can be lifted up and out of the mold of the cavity. This publication is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
PCT Patent Publication WO 94/07375 to Cebula et al. relates to forming fat-containing products such as chocolate in molds at temperatures at or below 0° C. to provide unforced demolding. This publication is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,426,402 to Kaupert relates to a method and an apparatus for producing chocolate forms using molding tools. During an injection step, the molding tool is cooled with a coolant, wherein one of the molding parts is maintained at about 20° C., while the other is maintained at a substantially lower temperature of 0° C. or less, such as about −5° C. Even lower temperatures, such as −10° C. and even −20° C., are disclosed as acceptable for still faster molding speeds if the formed chocolate body is carefully handled. This U.S. patent is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
The above-identified references fail to teach or suggest forming, shaping, or embossing methods to produce embossed or highly detailed and highly reproducible decorated chocolates having acceptable gloss with the efficiency and speed of an enrobing line. Thus, the development of methods which increase the speed and efficiencies of shaped chocolate processing lines would be a valuable addition to the art and offer alternate manufacturing methods.
The above-identified references also fail to teach or suggest that it is possible to emboss highly intricate details onto the tops of enrobed products. A method to add reproducible fine details to an enrobing process is not currently available. Thus, the development of methods which enable the convenient inclusion of highly intricate designs on the surfaces of enrobed products would be a valuable addition to the art and offer expanded opportunities for manufacture and design.